Death of Kenneth Evans

"A Bad Boy"

Kenneth Evans, a Detroiter, had his first encounter with the police at the age of 10. On July 12th, 1963 he was murdered by the Detroit Police Department at the age of 19. He was a "bad boy", his death was 9 years in the making (Detroit Free Press). The sequence of events leading to Evan's death is painted as inevitable in white media in Detroit.  It began at 9:30am when Evans and his underaged brother at the time were spotted in a stolen car. [This would be a great section to include discussions of grand theft auto or rather joy-riding at this moment with some secondary sources].

At 7pm Evans and his brother were spotted again in an alleyway [pin down location] by Officers Paul Frank and Charles Archibald, in the stolen car they were spotted in at 9:30am in the morning.  Evans and the Detroit Police Officers began in a high speed chase that led to Evans death. The officers claimed as they cornered Evans he fled the stolen car and refused to halt. Evans was shot twice: once in the hand and once in the back. 

As a juvenile Evans encounter with the police and his subsequent criminalization by the juvenile court system.  

Kenneth Evans was a young white man who faced the process of criminalization and ultimately death. Kenneth Evans was a "bad boy" not deemed worth protecting but deemed as a target for the Detroit Police Department to protect its community from.  Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor concluded a 6 hour investigation and ultimately concluded the homicide as justified. 

Sources:

Detroit News Photograph Collection, Walter P. Reuther Library, Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs, Wayne State University